Singh (Migration)

This matter concerned an application for review of a decision by the Department to cancel the applicant's Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, specifically a Subclass 573 (Higher Education Sector) visa. The applicant had not responded to the Department's notice of intention to cancel or participated in the review hearing before the Tribunal. The core of the dispute was whether the applicant had breached condition 8202 of the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth), which requires a student visa holder to maintain enrolment in a registered course.

The Tribunal was required to determine if the applicant had complied with condition 8202 of their visa. Specifically, the Tribunal needed to ascertain whether the applicant had been enrolled in a registered course of study since 10 September 2018, as alleged by the Department. If a breach of this condition was established, the Tribunal then had to consider whether to exercise its discretion to cancel the visa under section 116(1) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth).

The Tribunal found, based on the evidence before it, that the applicant had not been enrolled in a registered course of study since 10 September 2018, thereby breaching condition 8202(2)(a) of their visa. The Tribunal noted that the applicant's failure to participate in the review hearing or respond to the Department's notice meant it could not explore the circumstances surrounding this non-enrolment or the applicant's reasons for remaining in Australia. In exercising its discretion to cancel the visa, the Tribunal gave significant weight to the breach of the visa condition and found no compelling need for the applicant to remain in Australia, ultimately affirming the Department's decision to cancel the visa.